Posts Tagged ‘Chris Marie Green/Crystal Green’
Why I watch the TV Show Chuck
Don?t worry I?m not going to do massive spoilers. I can?t do that to my friends on the West Coast or in Australia who haven?t seen it yet. Normally I don?t really blog about TV shows. I just say this is what I?m watching and leave it at that. But this time I wanted to do something. I know people have been wondering why Chuck and not say Law and Order or Heroes? Honestly I don?t know. What I do know is that I?m grateful to NBC for keeping the show alive (Pleeeaaassse give us a whole 22 episodes season, pleeeeaaassseee).
To be honest I didn’t watch in the beginning. Too many freakin shows on at the same for me to watch. But I became curious after reading my friend Chris/Crystal Green’s Chuck recaps (her show recaps rock!) on her blog. Then I saw one episode and was hooked. I had to see them all.?Chuck isn?t a show that many will get. It?s not as complicated as Lost or as flashy as 24. It didn?t get lost in its mythos like Heroes did. At the core of the show, at it?s heart, the show is about Chuck and those that Chuck loves. His family. He may not be an uber spy like Bryce Larkin (Dear God, Matt Boomer is gorgeous) nor is he as suave as James Bond. He does bumble and fumble but he means well. In his heart of hearts he is a good guy, a sweet guy. He may not be your first choice but he is the guy who will go over to your house with your fav ice cream and a playlist of all your favorite songs if you?ve had a hell of a day. He?s the guy who will be there for you no matter what.
Chuck is the type of guy who will do the right thing no matter how much it hurts him. He?s the guy who will sacrifice it all for those that he loves even if it means risking his life. He is all about family: Ellie, Awesome, Morgan, Sarah and Casey. Yes, even Big Mike and, um, well, Jeff and Lester. Yeah them too. And that?s what we love about him. He?s loyal to a fault, good hearted, well meaning and a sweetheart. And yeah he?ll dress up for Comic Con and drag you along but you?ll have a hell of time there. He?s a dork but he can laugh at himself and he can fix your computer, pretty snazzy, I know! LOL.
Chuck is neither hip nor the hot, happening, it show of the moment. It just is. Season 3 had its ups and downs and there were gripes but this finale shows us yet again why we love the show, the writers and actors. There was action, humor, moments that made our hearts melt and there was a pay off (those wicked, infuriating, clever, wonderful writers). Looking back I feel as if over the seasons it?s been a natural progression, very organic, never hurried. The writers took their time. Nothing felt crammed in or over the top to me. There didn?t seem to be a need to outdo last week. Although for a moment there, some episodes made me wonder if I was watching a season finale and they didn?t tell us. LOL.
I for one think 3 months or however long we?ll have to wait for the new season is too long. But it?s worth the wait. This TV show Chuck is a keeper. And I can?t wait to see where they take us. To me the finale didn?t feel like an ending, it felt like just the beginning of a new chapter. Sorta like Supernatural, a reboot of sorts. Okay enough of my blathering. I return you now to your regularly scheduled program whatever that may be.
I?m blogging at TRS Blue today. Stop by, leave a comment and be entered to win 5 Changeling Credits. Good luck! http://trsblue.blogspot.com/ (Warning Adult Content)
Oh and watch White Collar on USA Network (or whatever channel it airs on where you are). How can you resist those gorgeous blue eyes of Matt Boomer’s? Seriously, he?s just gorgeous. I said that already didn?t I? Am I drooling? Sorry. *blush*
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Why I Wrote Vampire Babylon by Chris Marie Green
I wrote my Vampire Babylon series for a few reasons. I wanted to:
- flesh out a hunter who was kick-ass yet vulnerable.
- have fun with a group of characters (and I do mean the quirky kind) who would serve as a hunting team.
- do a bloody, gritty, neon-on-the-dark-rainy-streets infused mystery.
- create some vamps of a different stripe.
So I started playing around with an idea that fused many of these elements. Since I?m pretty much a storage unit for pop cultural tidbits, I took all of the above, mixed it with a ?Charlie?s Angels? type boss (who?s also a bit of the Phantom of the Opera), resurrected one of the most well-known urban legends of the silver screen (the ghost boy from THREE MEN AND A BABY), and gave it a spin.
Poof?my first Vampire Babylon trilogy was born, stretching awake through (and under) the gothic, noir streets of Los Angeles.
But here was the thing?this story about an erotically charged Hollywood Underground was so big that I knew I wouldn?t be able to tell it all in just one book. So I looked at HARRY POTTER and how J.K. Rowling used a mythology that spanned seven books?stories in which the big bad villain wasn?t put to rest until the very last installment. I looked at the fascination with LOST. And I decided that my story would be best served by using a longer trilogy arc.
It was chancy. Although there?s a central mystery that?s solved by the end of each book, there were mystery, mythology, and character threads that wouldn?t be tied up until the third book. But in NIGHT RISING, MIDNIGHT REIGN, and BREAK OF DAWN, I feel like things did come to a satisfying close?
Until Ace asked me to write another three books.
And I was ready, because I had a yen to explore one of the most haunted cities in the world?London. Also, I had an idea for some vampires who had a lot in common with certain fairy tales. Basically, this second trilogy features what I consider to be the scariest vampires of all?young girls who are lured by an older man making promises to them. Promises he, of course, has no intention of keeping. And, let?s be honest?you never want to tick off a teenaged girl. (I would?ve been the biggest nightmare vampire of all, way back when!)
The first two books, A DROP OF RED (book 4) and THE PATH OF RAZORS (book 5), show you a different underground than the Hollywood one, and the trilogy will be closing out with the third installment, DEEP IN THE WOODS (book 6), on March 2, 2010. I had such fun doing this trilogy?I got to travel to London, where I blocked out scenes in Highgate Cemetery and Southwark. And when you get to research something as interesting as the effect fairy tales have had on society? Icing on the cake.
If you?ve read the previous five books, thank you from the bottom of my arguably dark heart. : ) If you?d like to start, the books are out there just waiting for you to snag them?much like the things that exist under the ground, watching, waiting?wanting.
I?ll be giving away a signed copy of THE PATH OF RAZORS, Vampire Babylon, Book Five, to someone who comments on this blog. Check back tomorrow for the winner!
Enjoy!
Happy Hunting,
Chris Marie Green
TV Spotlight: Supernatural by Chris Marie Green/Crystal Green
(I tried my best to be spoiler free for those of you who haven?t yet experienced the awesomeness!)
There are some shows you watch just to be entertained.? These are superficial, pass-the-time programs that leave no mark on you.? In fact, by the end of the season, you have trouble recalling some of the episodes.? You do not relate to the characters at all.
Supernatural isn?t that show.
Take two brothers who have daddy issues, mix-in their opposites-are-fun-to-watch chemistry, put them on a road trip filled with ghost stories, pathos, demons, and the apocalypse, add a dash of gorgeous hunk of men and you?ve got a Thursday night full of awesome.? And lest this all should sound very glossy, it?s not.? This show has made me laugh because I love the characters so much.? This show has thrown me into the pit of despair because of the decisions those characters make.? This show has scared me because, unlike some mainstream TV programs,?Supernatural refuses to pull its punches?there are always consequences for actions, and that?s the genius of the drama here.? We go through the hole to a dark, frightening, sometimes hilarious Wonderland with our avatars, the Winchester brothers, and we suffer right along with them.
I?m only a recent convert.? For some reason, I didn?t know how fantastic this show was at first.? But then I heard all the whisperings on the ?net about this storyline or that character on?Supernatural, and I was intrigued.? People would tell me that I?need to tune in, so I obeyed.? And happy I am.
Why?? Here are a few reasons:
1.The storytelling doesn?t get any better than this.
The seasons all have their own arcs and climaxes, but the creator, Eric Kripke, had a full vision for the entire series.? That means we have a lot of satisfying continuity, such as the payoff of several mysterious elements that showed up in earlier seasons (for example, Croatoan and the Meg demon).? Also, along with the longer arcs, we get great twists on ghost stories and urban legends we?ve heard before, but they?re all solved Winchester style, with smart-ass cracks from brother Dean and puppy-dog sympathy from brother Sam.? The series treats its audience with respect; I mentioned that it pulls no punches, but it also strives to be clever.
2. The series never lingers too long on a mystery.
Supernatural knows just how and when to solve something.? Just when you think a plot is played out, another twist will come along and keep you very, very interested.
3. The writers have juevos.
They have the guts to explore things that might scare a lot of other staffs.? For those who?ve seen the series, I point in particular to Sam in season 4.? And Ruby.? And Bela.
4. And just in case you?re not yet convinced?
Dean and Sam are hot.
I recommend first renting the DVDs.? You?ll want to know everything about the Winchester brothers and what they?re facing.? Believe me, it?ll be worth the investment.? : )
Chris Marie Green, who writes urban fantasy, also creates romances as Crystal Green and writes a blog entry about Supernatural every time a new one airs (www.crystal-green.com).? Her latest release is?The Path of Razors, Vampire Babylon, Book Five, which continues the adventures of Dawn Madison and her vampire hunting team.? Book Six,?Deep in the Woods, will be released March 2, 2010.? To learn more, you can go to her Web site at?www.vampirebabylon.com or follow her at Twitter at?http://twitter.com/ChrisMarieGreen.
Paranormal Week: Chris Marie Green
Since the fifth book in my Vampire Babylon series, THE PATH OF RAZORS, was just released, Selena invited me to talk about it, and, as always, I welcome the opportunity!? ; )
I?ve always had some major interest in vampires, mysteries, London, and fairy tales, so I suppose it makes sense that the second trilogy in my Vampire Babylon series focuses on all four elements.? Some of you know that I even took a trip overseas to explore London so I could block out certain scenes and derive some inspiration from the foggy night streets and numerous haunted spots around the city.? Needless to say, my vampire hunters?and the new vampire Underground that the team needed to track and destroy?thrived in this new location.? It?s a long way from the Hollywood setting of the first three books in the series, but the monsters below the ground in Jolly Ol? are just as dangerous?if not more so!
When I first decided to write this urban fantasy series, I was inspired by that ?ghost story? we?ve all heard about the phantom boy who lurks in the background of one scene in THREE MEN AND A BABY.? (Go to the Snopes site to see the details?.)? It turns out that this particular ghost sighting was nothing more than a movie-board cutout, and there was no tragic boy who?d died on the movie set.? But then I started to wonder? What if that boy had been real?and what if he?d actually been a vampire?? I?d also wanted to write about a kick-ass vamp hunting woman, and Dawn Madison was born from that.? Her team, which is composed of a ?little person? psychic named Kiko, a mad-scientist type named Breisi, and a group of dead, spirit ex-hunters called Friends, came next, as well as the boss of them all??The Voice.?? I wanted to make him mysterious, sexy, and dark?he was basically what Charlie of ?Charlie?s Angels? would?ve been like had he also been the Phantom of the Opera with a different past, LOL.? I set the team to solving this ?THREE MEN AND A BABY?-esque mystery while the reader also got to see the inner workings of the vampire community that was causing all the trouble.
That was the initial trilogy: NIGHT RISING, MIDNIGHT REIGN, and BREAK OF DAWN.
At the end of book three, the main character and mythology arcs had been completed, so it was time for the team to hunt down a new Underground?and they found it in London.? In the opening book of the London Trilogy, A DROP OF RED, Book Four, Dawn and the team came upon the trail of a community that uses teen girls as their soldiers?and we all know that you do not mess with teen girls?especially if they?re vamps.? For this trilogy arc, I wanted to tie fairy tale elements to the female psyche, so there?s a big Red Riding Hood/Wicked Queen component.? That was fun, because, to me, old fairy tales?not the Disney versions?are truly scary; the dark woods aren?t necessarily made up of looming trees in a forest.? The woods are inside of us, and Dawn Madison finds that hunting is taking her farther and farther into an abyss in her soul.? The titles of the trilogy mark her journey: A DROP OF RED, THE PATH OF RAZORS (as opposed to the paths that Red Riding Hood had to chose from?the path of needles or the path of pins), and DEEP IN THE WOODS.
Lest you think that these books are all just ideas and no action, I can tell you that there?re plenty of plot twists, detective stuff, fights, and dangerous romantic elements, too!? The ?bad? vampires are mean and the ?good? vampires are as conflicted as all get-out.? I hope that there are even creepy, rather eerie moments for you to enjoy, as well, just like an old Hammer movies that I happen to love.? : )
I?m going to give away a signed copy of A DROP OF RED, Vampire Babylon, Book 4, to someone who leaves a comment, so talk away!? And thank you for having me here.? <G>
http://www.crystal-green.com/
http://www.vampirebabylon.com/